In 2025, $4 million riderLee Francoisproved he could still compete at the highest level after nearly losing everything.
He hauled for theNCHA Open World Championship with Preachersdrinknagain, finishing Reserve World Champion, and rodeSistersonthewagon to a tie for co-reserve champion at the NCHA Futurity.
What those results don’t immediately show is the road that led there.
In 2019, Francois suffered a brain lesion near his brain stem—an episode that forced him to relearn the physical mechanics of horse training, restructure his business, and slowly rebuild his program back to the limited-age-event arena.
Francois’ Setback Before the Comeback
Francois was riding in Colorado with a barn full of horses in 2019, preparing for a major show, when his body began to fail him in a way he couldn’t explain.
“The whole side of my face got really numb,” Francois said. “Every day I was getting weaker and just feeling worse all the time. I got to where I couldn’t stand up straight and didn’t have any energy—and had to quit showing.”
Lee and his wife,Holly, made it back to Dallas, where testing began and the possible diagnoses were alarming.
“They said it was either a tumor, Multiple Sclerosis, or a stroke,” Francois said. “But they never did find out… they never gave us a definite answer.”
Doctors eventually determined the symptoms were caused by a quarter-sized lesion on his brain near the brain stem, a location too risky for a biopsy. The couple began a symptomatic treatment plan while Lee struggled with extreme fatigue and Holly worked to keep their training business operating.
“I didn’t ride a horse,” Francois recalled. “I didn’t even get out of the house for a month—I was just dead tired. Then slowly I’d get on one every day and just kind of built back up.”
But the hardest challenge wasn’t simply regaining strength. It was rebuilding the mind-muscle connection that training cutting horses requires.
“It’s taken me from 2019 to [2025] to get to where I was happy with my horse training again,” Francois said. “I really had to learn how to train a horse all over again.”
Reanalyzing the Francois Program
Looking back, Holly said the experience forced them to reevaluate the structure of their operation.
They had simply taken on too much.
“We had too many horses, too much pressure, and too much going on,” Holly said.
The Francois family cut their training program nearly in half, dropping from roughly 50 horses in training to about 25. In an industry where results often dictate loyalty, Holly expected clients to leave.
Instead, they stayed.
“Not one client walked away during that,” Holly said. “Everybody stood by us.”
Friends stepped in as well. Among them was Western Bloodstock owner Jeremy Barwick, who Holly credits for supporting them during the most uncertain days.
“When we were trying to figure out what was wrong with Lee, Jeremy met us at the hospital,” Holly said. “He literally slept on the hospital floor that night waiting for us to get a room.”
For Francois, the episode ultimately brought clarity.
“That little episode in the hospital was the best thing that ever happened,” Francois said. “It cleared my mind—spiritually and mentally. It put everything in perspective.”
With fewer horses in training, the goal became clear: rebuild the horsepower and refine Francois’ training program.
But the rebuilding process came with more setbacks.
In the fall of 2022, after a successful day showing at the Brazos Bash, Holly received a phone call no horse trainer wants to hear.
Their home was on fire.
“Our house was completely lost,” Holly said. “Our barn and horses were spared, and our daughter wasn’t home at the time.”
Despite the challenges, Holly maintains a grounded outlook.
“People will say, ‘God, y’all have been through a lot,’” she said. “And I’m like, really? Have we? Things are really good now.”
Rebuild Almost Complete
As Francois’ health stabilized and the program slowly rebuilt, another key relationship entered the picture.
In the summer of 2023, Leslyn Wallace, a first-generation cutting horse owner, approached the Francois family about purchasing Preachersdrinknagain, the Metallic Cat gelding who would later help Francois win the 2025 NCHA Open Reserve World Championship.
But Wallace wasn’t looking to move the horse.
“She wanted to buy ‘Preacher,’ but she also wanted him to stay in our program,” Holly said. “And she wanted to learn the cutting horse business from the ground up.”
Wallace, whose Rock’n Diamond Equine operation grew from a lifelong love of horses and cattle, quickly became more than just a client—she became a partner in the rebuilding process.
Her involvement allowed Francois to pursue something he had rarely prioritized in his career: hauling for the NCHA open world standings.
Wallace’s arrival also led to the Francois familyrepurchasing the broodmare Reys Desire,whom they had sold to Bobby Patton following the passing of her owner, Woody Bartlett.
In a fitting twist, Reys Desire is the dam of both Preachersdrinknagain and Sistersonthewagon.
“You never really know where these relationships are going to lead,” Holly said. “Sometimes you think something has ended, and it actually opens another door.”
A Season of Proving Ground
As Francois regained strength, he set out to test himself again in the show pen.
Normally a limited-age event specialist, he committed to hauling Preachersdrinknagain throughout the 2025 season in pursuit of the NCHA Open World Championship, while also preparing the gelding’s full sister, Sistersonthewagon, for the NCHA Futurity.
For a full year, Francois embraced the relentless rhythm of weekend cuttings.
He and his team carefully managed Preachersdrinknagain’s soundness alongside veterinarian Todd Laughrey and farrier Jordan Skeith, ensuring the gelding stayed healthy throughout the demanding schedule.
The strategy paid off.
Francois finished as the reserve world champion, falling short of the title by less than $1,000 at the World Finals in Fort Worth.
While the finish was bittersweet, the season served another purpose: rebuilding the physical and competitive instincts Francois had been working to recover.
The effort paid dividends elsewhere as well.
At the 2025 NCHA Futurity, Francois piloted Sistersonthewagon to a 220.5-point run, tying for co-reserve champion and earning $229,670 for the Francois-Barwick partnership.
Back in the Limited-Age Lane
By the end of 2025, the Francois program was showing clear signs of returning to form—not because of a single horse or result, but because of the season as a whole.
“You are reserve on full siblings at the World Finals and the Futurity,” Holly said. “That’s pretty crazy, speaks to the Metallic Cat and Reys Desire cross, and Lee’s commitment to every horse in the barn.”
Francois agrees the year spent hauling was valuable, but he’s clear about the direction ahead.
“We’re getting back into the aged events,” Francois said. “It just shows that if you want to make it, you can. And if you try, people will come into your life that help you get to the next place—if you’re doing things right and treating people right.”
In a sport often measured in checks and championships, Francois’ last few years tell a different kind of story—one about rebuilding a program, trusting the process, and leaning on the relationships that make success possible.